Trichilemmoma of eyelid and eyebrow. A clinicopathologic study of 31 cases.

Thirty-one cases of trichilemmoma of the eyelid and eyebrow were studied. All lesions were solitary, small, and asymptomatic. Unlike basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid, trichilemmoma rarely involves the lid margin or the inner canthus. The age range of our patients was from 22 to 88 years old (mean, 56 years). There were 19 men and 12 women. The most frequent clinical diagnoses were verruca vulgaris and cutaneous horn. Typically, the tumor displayed a lobular pattern and was composed mostly of glycogen-rich clear cells. The periphery of the lobules showed palisading of columnar cells and a distinct basement membrane. Histologically, the tumor was frequently misinterpreted as basal cell carcinoma. Review of the literature, including our own series, discloses that the eyelid is the second most common site for trichilemmoma after the nose.